THEATRE + COMEDY

Houston Family Arts Center (HFAC) continues its 6th season of bringing family-friendly entertainment to Houston with the hit musical, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, opening at 8 PM on Friday, January 14, 2011.

“Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.”

These words of wisdom, along with lots of other sage advice, come from the pages of Robert Fulghum’s best-selling book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, which will be brought to life on the HFAC Garza Main Stage at the Houston Family Arts Center.

“Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten,” Fulghum writes. “Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.”

“We’re excited to welcome back Cary Thornton to direct this fun show,” says, Bob Clark, HFAC Executive Director. “The stage adaptation takes the viewer through various life situations, and teaches some of life’s basic but most important lessons in a series of touching, charming and humorous sketches.” .

“The ensemble cast speaks primarily to the audience,” Clark said. “The audience will see themselves, their families, people they’ve met in each of these characters. The writing is rich and at times deeply moving. Patrons will find themselves being emotionally drawn into each story and hopefully will leave having had their lives enriched in some way.”

The ensemble includes local Houston actors: David Armstrong, David Branson, Beth Chrisman, Aundrea Cudjoe, Jamie Lee-Chong, Meredith Mearns, Pamela M. Moore, Glenn Ropiequet, and Cristin Ward.

Can we learn all we need to know from kindergarten? Bob Clark says “yes.”

“The idea Robert Fulghum wants us to consider is the simplistic yet profoundly wise structure of the average kindergartner’s life. What would our world be like if all of us stopped at 3 o’clock every afternoon for a cookies and milk break? Then laid down with our blankets and took a nap. What if nations - world governments - always put things back the way they found them? Or just played fair?”

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten opens January 14 and runs Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 PM and Sunday afternoons at 3 PM through January 30. The box office opens one hour before each performance and the house opens 30 minutes before each performance. Tickets for reserved seating are $16/adults, $14/seniors (65+), $12/children & students.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Performance Location: Garza Main Stage 10760 Grant Road, Houston, TX 77070
Opening: FRIDAY, January 14 at 8 pm

Performances:

Saturday, January 15 at 8 PM
Friday, January 21 at 8 PM
Saturday, January 22 at 8 PM
Sunday, January 23 at 3 PM
Friday, January 28 at 8 PM
Saturday, January 29 at 8 PM
Sunday, January 30 at 3 PM

HFAC SEASON SPONSORS
National Oilwell Varco
Dr. Mario and Lisa Garza

HOUSTON FAMILY ARTS CENTER – FAMILY THEATRE AND ACTORS ACADEMY
Houston Family Arts Center (HFAC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, founded in November 2005 to provide a fun outlet for creative community involvement through the production of high-quality, family-friendly, affordable entertainment. Each year, HFAC produces family-friendly musicals, comedies, and dramas. The HFAC Actors’ Academy provides numerous acting, singing and dancing classes and workshops for children, teens, and adults.

HFAC is the recipient of the 2009 & 2010 Nickelodeon Parents’ Picks Award for “Houston’s Best Theater Group for Kids.”

To purchase tickets, sign up for auditions or classes, or for more information, please visit www.houstonfac.com  or call the HFAC box office at 281-685-6374 or the HFAC Actors Academy at 281-685-2623.